Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Hoyas Fall in First Series

It’s funny how one half-inning can erase a game’s worth of baseball.

The Hoya nine had an 11-9 lead going into the bottom of the eighth against the William and Mary Tribe on Saturday, Feb. 12. Three outs later, the Tribe led 21-11.

Senior left-handed pitcher Mike Halloran, who entered the game in the seventh inning and promptly retired the first three batters, lost his bearings in the eighth, allowing a walk, two doubles and two runs before being lifted.

Senior righty Tom Braun relieved Halloran but was unable to stop the bleeding. In two-thirds of an inning, seven runs scored over the course of five walks (two intentional), two stolen bases and three hits.

Senior Andrew Cleary, usually a solid defensive catcher, allowed a run on a passed ball, and his throwing error let the 10th run of the inning cross the plate.

After that play freshman righthander Grady McConnell took the mound, the fifth Hoya pitcher to appear in the game. Two unearned runs scored before the inning finally ended, 12 tours of the bases later.

Although Georgetown loaded the bases in the ninth, all three men were left on base, ending the game.

“The bottom line is, we pitched very, very poorly,” Head Coach Pete Wilk said.

Righthander Eddie Pena, a senior captain, struck out three and allowed four hits, five walks and five earned runs in five innings of work as the opening day starter.

The Hoyas did not lose for lack of trying, though. Georgetown had gotten out to an early lead in the game, going through the entire batting order in the top of the first. Cleary started the scoring, driving in sophomore leftfielder Mark McLaughlin – who had reached first on a passed ball – on a single to right field. Cleary hit 2-for-4 Saturday, scoring three and driving in three runs.

Junior outfielder Tim Jones batted in senior right fielder and team captain Mark Quinn. With the bases loaded, senior first baseman and team captain Jim Supple hit a double to right field to bring the three runners home, capping off a five-run rally.

William and Mary scored four and five runs in the bottom of the first and sixth, respectively, to take the lead, 9-8, but Georgetown regained control with three runs in the top of the eighth.

“We showed a lot of character in Saturday’s game, coming back twice after giving up the lead,” Wilk said.

Senior second baseman Parker Brooks and junior designated hitter Ryan Craft each went 3-for-4 on the day.

Halloran took the loss while William and Mary freshman righty Jake Rule picked up his first career win. Rule, the fourth of five Tribe pitchers, gave up two hits and struck out two in an inning and a third.

“We played pretty good defense and hit very well on Saturday, well enough to win,” Wilk said.

Though the offense showed up on Saturday, it was nowhere to be found on Sunday as the Tribe shut out the Hoyas, 11-0, in the second part of the series at Plumeri Park in Williamsburg, Va.

William and Mary held Georgetown to just four hits, with freshman infielder Matthew Bouchard being the only Hoya to pick up two hits.

The Hoyas’ first three pitchers again lost their handle on the strike zone, giving up 10 walks and 13 hits as well as throwing four wild pitches. Sophomore lefty Mark Dutmers, though, was able to maintain control as he took over in the ninth, retiring the last three Tribe batters.

Georgetown’s starting pitcher, junior righthander Stephen Burns, gave up five earned runs, six walks and five hits without recording a strikeout in his two and two-thirds innings, taking the loss.

“We need to command two pitches for strikes,” Wilk said. “If we don’t, it will be a very long year.”

William and Mary senior shortstop Kyle Padgett led all batters with four RBI, mostly thanks to a bases-clearing double in the third. Padgett racked up nine RBIs on the series.

The Tribe went on another scoring tear in the fifth with a four-run rally, kicked off by a RBI base hit from junior infielder Jeff Lunardi. Padgett’s fourth RBI came on a sacrifice fly, which was followed by junior outfielder Chris Rahl’s RBI double and senior catcher Jon Rhymes’ RBI single. Rahl went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs while Rhymes went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

Tribe sophomore southpaw Michael LaFleur took the win after pitching six scoreless innings with four strikeouts and two walks.

Tomorrow Georgetown hopes to get a fresh start as it opens a three-game series at Davidson in Davidson, N.C. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.

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